Bb/Eb is a great sounding pitch for a box. You can play anything on it that you would play on a DG, it will just come out at a lower pitch and sound richer and more sonorous.

Arriving 23rd of May you might just catch the last couple of days of the melodeon building course in Yeovil - about an hours drive from Poole. It is run by Emmanuel Pariselle, and I will be there doing the tuning.

Having lain dormant for over four years, I dragged this old box back out of the store cupboard today. A new set of oversized bellows gaskets (3mm thick!) has made a vast improvement to the air tightness and I reckon it is time to bite the bullet, reface the pallets, replace the valves and go in search of leaks before the tricky tuning (BRASS REEDS!!) process. Wish me luck chaps, I'm going in.

No, not at all. They are tiny and in some cases I needed snipe-nosed pliers to recover them from the bass end where the rods get in your way and meaty fingers won't fit but the screws moved easily enough despite the rusty appearance.

Refacing the pallets went well, the original facings were leather, possibly chamoise although they were a darkish milk chocolate brown. I think they must have been original because they more or less disintegrated when I tried to peal them off and a light rub on 80 grit paper finished the job off very quickly.

I don't think I've really considered how old this box actually is, do we know when the M.Hohner name was dropped in favour of just Hohner? The Club 1 had deep bellows frames like this one has, was that the last Hohner model with this feature?

After removing the single screw from the pallets they had to be twisted slightly to free them from the lever arm, there were remnants of a substance that had been used to stick the pallet to the tip of the arm which may have been hide glue but I rather suspect it was a bit of shellac as it crumbled away easily. When I refitted them the central screw proved to be insufficient on its own to keep the pallet steady and prevent it from twisting around. A dab of hot melt glue on the tip of the arm will do the trick although getting in to the bass pallets may be a bit of a challenge.

I managed to guide the tip of the hot melt glue gun through the gauntlet of bass end rods as you suggested Steve. I also learned to limit the amount of hot melt glue dispensed by dragging the glue stick back from the gun and using the hot tip to distribute the glue evenly. Onward and upward a little at a time, thanks for the tip!

Glueing pallets like that seems awfully final. How on earth do you refurbish them another time, should the need arise?

Pallets secured with hot melt glue are relatively easy to remove should the need arise. A narrow steel scraper (an old screw-driver blade will do) warmed briefly in a gas flame will soften the glue, and with the aid of a blunt knife and/or tweezers, the glue can be peeled off.

It helps if not too much hot melt glue has been used in the first place.

It’s even simpler than that Steve. Hot melt glue peels off easily. Just make sure you only apply it *after* placing the lever in the slot on top of the pallet.

Indeed, especially if the hot melt glue is relatively fresh. Heating with a warm scraper or old screw driver blade is useful if the glue is old and somewhat hardened which seems to happen after a few years.

Glueing pallets like that seems awfully final. How on earth do you refurbish them another time, should the need arise?

SJ

John, you need to experiment with a hot glue gun, this is a substance like no other you have encountered before. First of all you should realise there are lots of different glue sticks available and I have experience of just the one, the general purpose hot melt glue stick. This is a non-aggressive adhesive that relies on flowing into every nook and cranny of the material it is applied to and it works more by suction than actually sticking to anything, so first and foremost it is a forgiving and flexible joint that will allow movement, secondly it will relinquish its' grip easily and without damage with the application of a little heat or a small amount of force.